Reported Questions and Commands: correct answers
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Transforming direct questions and commands into reported speech requires careful attention to word order and verb forms. For example, the direct question "Where are you going?" becomes She asked where I was going (not where was I going), and the command "Don't move!" becomes He ordered me not to move. Notice how reported questions shift to statement word order, dropping auxiliary verbs like do or did, while reported commands rely on the infinitive form.
Inside, you'll tackle advanced indirect speech structures. You will need to choose the correct word order for reported wh- questions and yes/no questions, while also selecting the proper positive and negative infinitives for reported commands. The scenarios are packed with drama: from helping a baffled detective report on a squirrel suspect to translating a galactic commander's orders and recounting a head chef's kitchen meltdown.
You'll work through 10 questions using a mix of single-choice, multi-choice, drop-down, and drag-and-drop formats.
Try the quiz to check your knowledge!
Correct answers
Question 1
Help the terrified waiter recount his disastrous encounter with the head chef by choosing the correct words for the blanks.
Chef Gordon demanded to know ________ the soufflé, and immediately ordered me ________ his kitchen.
The correct answer is whether I had dropped / to get out of.
Direct yes/no questions ("Did you drop the soufflé?") are reported using "whether" or "if" followed by statement word order and a backshifted tense (whether I had dropped). Direct commands ("Get out!") are reported using an object + infinitive verb pattern (ordered me to get out of).
Question 2
The correct answers are I had hidden, never to enter, and whether I was planning.
Indirect Questions: When reporting a question, we change the word order to statement form (Subject + Verb) and remove auxiliaries like do/did.
- "Where did you hide it?" $\rightarrow$ "...where I had hidden it."
- "Are you planning to...?" $\rightarrow$ "...whether I was planning to..."
Reported Commands: We use an infinitive structure (verb + object + to-infinitive). For negative commands, place not or never directly before the to-infinitive.
- "Never enter my box!" $\rightarrow$ "...ordered me never to enter..."
Question 3
Help the baffled detective write his official report regarding the prime suspect by choosing the correct phrase to complete the sentence.
The detective interrogated the squirrel, demanding to know ________ the acorns and why ________ at him with such disdain.
The correct answer is where it had hidden / it was looking.
In indirect (reported) questions, the word order changes from question format (verb-subject) to statement format (subject-verb), and auxiliary verbs like "did" are dropped. Additionally, the tenses backshift: the direct past simple ("where did you hide") becomes past perfect ("where it had hidden"), and present continuous ("why are you looking") becomes past continuous ("why it was looking").
Question 4
The correct answers are: The commander ordered the humans to explain how the spaceship worked and asked if they had any fuel left. The commander instructed the humans to explain how the spaceship worked and wanted to know whether they had any fuel left.
The original quote contains an embedded question ("how this spaceship works") inside a command. In reported speech, the embedded question must backshift its tense ("how the spaceship worked") but must never use auxiliary inversion like "how did the spaceship work".
Furthermore, the yes/no question ("Do you have any fuel left?") must be introduced by if or whether and follow standard subject-verb word order ("if they had"). Options using "asked did they have" are incorrect because they retain the direct question auxiliary did. Finally, "commanded the humans explain" is missing the required to before the infinitive.
Question 5
Complete the apprentice's diary entry about his chaotic first day at the magic tower by selecting the grammatically correct option.
The wizard furiously warned me ________ the glowing orb, asking how many times ________ to remind me.
The correct answer is not to touch / he had.
When reporting a negative command, we use "not to" + infinitive (warned me not to touch). For the reported question, we must use statement word order (subject + verb) rather than question word order, so "he had" is correct, whereas "had he" or "did he have" incorrectly retain the inverted structure of a direct question.
Question 6
The correct answers are: The villain demanded to know where the secret vault was and ordered the agent not to tell anyone else. The villain inquired where the secret vault was and commanded the agent to tell no one else.
When reporting a wh- question, the word order changes from interrogative (verb-subject: "where is the vault") to declarative (subject-verb: "where the vault was"). Options with "where was the secret vault" are incorrect because they retain the inverted question word order.
When reporting a negative command, we use "not to + infinitive" (e.g., "ordered the agent not to tell"). Using "don't tell" in reported speech is grammatically incorrect.
Question 7
Help the food critic reconstruct the chaotic kitchen scene for her review by choosing the correct phrase for each blank.
The head chef demanded to know why the trainee had added so much salt to the delicate consommé, and furiously ordered him not to touch the stove for the rest of the evening.
The head chef demanded to know why the trainee had added so much salt to the delicate consommé, and furiously ordered him not to touch the stove for the rest of the evening.
Reported Questions: When reporting a "Wh-" question, we keep the question word but change the word order to a statement (subject + verb). We drop the auxiliary "do/did" and backshift the tense (Past Simple $\rightarrow$ Past Perfect). "Why did you add?" becomes "why the trainee had added".
Reported Commands: When reporting a negative command, we use the structure reporting verb + object + not + to-infinitive. "Don't touch!" becomes "ordered him not to touch".
Question 8
The correct answers are: The head chef asked whether they had seasoned the soup and insisted that they clean their stations immediately. The head chef asked if they had seasoned the soup and told them to clean their stations immediately.
To report a yes/no question, you must use if or whether followed by standard subject-verb word order (no inversion). "Asked had they" and "whether had they" are incorrect because they keep the auxiliary verb before the subject.
For reporting commands, you can use a verb like told/ordered + object + to-infinitive ("told them to clean"), or a verb like insisted/demanded + that clause using the subjunctive mood ("insisted that they clean"). Note that demand cannot take an object pronoun before an infinitive ("demanded them to clean" is incorrect).
Question 9
Complete the lawyer's exasperated diary entry about the eccentric billionaire's bizarre will reading. Choose the correct phrase for each gap.
During the reading of the will, the billionaire's pre-recorded hologram inquired whether the cats had been fed their daily truffles, and strictly instructed the bewildered heirs to build a solid gold statue of his favorite poodle.
During the reading of the will, the billionaire's pre-recorded hologram inquired whether the cats had been fed their daily truffles, and strictly instructed the bewildered heirs to build a solid gold statue of his favorite poodle.
Reported Yes/No Questions: We use "if" or "whether" followed by statement word order (subject + verb). The direct question "Have the cats been fed?" backshifts to the past perfect: "whether the cats had been fed." Inverted word order ("whether had the cats...") is incorrect in reported speech.
Reported Commands: For positive commands, we use reporting verb + object + to-infinitive. "Build a statue!" becomes "instructed the heirs to build".
Question 10
The correct answers are my wand was sparking, to drop, not to practice, and who had broken.
Reported Wh- Questions: Use standard subject-verb word order, not question word order.
- "Why is your wand sparking?" $\rightarrow$ "...why my wand was sparking."
Reported Commands: Use the to-infinitive for positive commands and not to + infinitive for negative commands.
- "Drop it!" $\rightarrow$ "...instructed me to drop it."
- "Don't practice!" $\rightarrow$ "...warned me not to practice."
Reported Subject Questions: When the question word (who) is the subject, the word order stays the same, but the tense must backshift (from Past Simple/Present Perfect to Past Perfect).
- "Who broke the window?" $\rightarrow$ "...wondered who had broken the window."